Ontario's New Democratic Party has been dealt a blow after a prominent community activist and former supporter of Andrea Horwath announced she is jumping ship to run for the Liberals in the party leader's own Hamilton Centre riding.

Deirdre Pike, a senior planner with the Hamilton Social Planning and Research Council and Hamilton Spectator freelance columnist, announced her surprise intentions this weekend in her final column with the paper.

The 55-year-old LGBTQ and social justice advocate said she was swayed by the Liberals' work on anti-poverty initiatives, specifically around minimum wage – a file the left-wing NDP has been criticized for not championing.

She says the response has been largely supportive, but acknowledges that there has also been criticism from former peers in the NDP camp who see the move as a betrayal.

"I am hoping that the folks who will be disappointed in me for sure, who will see me as leaving their camp, will at least see me as a … worthy opponent and someone with good intentions," she said Monday.

I have stood beside Andrea in solidarity at many rallies over the years as we were on the same side of so many issues. Now our paths have diverged. Her silence on poverty is disheartening. In 2014, an election was triggered because Andrea led her party to vote against a Liberal budget, in part, in protest of the $14 minimum wage.

That same year, longtime Ontario NDP members including Michele Landsberg, partner of former ONDP party leader Stephen Lewis, and Toronto public health nurse and former NDP candidate Cathy Crowe were among many signatories to a letter to Andrea which stated, "If the NDP does not stand with working people, poor people, with women, with immigrants, then what does it stand for? We urge you to change course."

That course didn't change so I am. I have been pushing Premier Wynne and her party from the outside to move on a fairer agenda for all Ontarians and she has listened. Now is the time for me to try to join her to do that work from the inside.

Given that sky-rocketing hydro rates are contributing to poverty in Ontario, and that privatization of hydro is contributing to those sky-rocketing hydro rates, I wonder why Pike would campaign in favour of the Liberals' plan to continue the process of hydro privatization, started by Mike Harris.

The ONDP opposed a $14 an hour minimum wage? The OLP increased it to $15 an hour. I'd jump ship too if the opposition was becoming like the party I used to know who are acting in a way that you'd expect from ONDP.

I wish her good luck. And if the OLP win the election,I hope she motivates the Liberals to move further to the centre left.

I'm sorry but provincial NDP are NOT progressive. If they were,provinces who've had NDP governments,some multiple times,those provinces would be progressive provinces. Except they are not. With the exception of the BCNDP.

And of course people working within the NDP are jumping ship to the Liberals because the NDP has successfully given up on all they supposedly stand for and the Liberals are picking those policies up and succeeding politically.

Given that sky-rocketing hydro rates are contributing to poverty in Ontario, and that privatization of hydro is contributing to those sky-rocketing hydro rates, I wonder why Pike would campaign in favour of the Liberals' plan to continue the process of hydro privatization, started by Mike Harris.

It's possible Pike doesn't believe that an NDP government would be any more reliable on privatization than on poverty. The Manitoba NDP government(s) never tried to return Manitoba Telephone System to public ownership. Likewise with the Saskatchewan NDP and Potash Corp. And the Ontario NDP campaigned on public auto insurance - then promptly reneged once elected. Has Horwath's NDP promised to reverse any hydro privatization if elected? I argued for that position in these pages during the 2014 election. I guess nationalization and public ownership are too radical for our "social democratic" party.

So in response to your point, which I think is a very important one, it would be nice if someone put that very question to Pike. You never know how she'll answer until you ask. If she ignores the question or spouts the party script, we can take it from there.

Sorry to burst your bubble. But the provincial NDP in Canada is NOT progressive. And in this case,Horwath doesn't really seem to be committed to progressive issues.

Just like the NDP who became Liberal-lite and a step or 2 backward progressively to the Liberals. The Liberals around the country,for the most part (excluding BC and Quebec) are leaning more to the left for the past several years.

I mean,even the Couillard Liberals sre not destructive and callous as the right wing opposition. People scream 'austerity' but it's funny. I still get called within 2 weeks for CAT scans,MRIs and a colonoscopy. My waiting time for scheduled appointments have actually sped up,not slowed down,they still support social housing and my disability cheque has been raised over $50 a month. Where exactly is the austerity?

A CAQ government will be an austerity government on steroids. I prefer Couillard to Legault -- much so,to the point that if it's a tight race and here in my riding which has always been a safe riding for the Libs provincially and federally,I will vote Liberal. If this riding is clearly going to the Liberals,I can vote with my conscience.

I cannot sit back and help Legault get the keys to the kingdom,I'll do whatever I need to do. If people here don't like that,I suggest you study the 3 major candidates running in Québec.

You have the centrist Liberals. The Right Wing CAQ and the 'we don't know where we stand' PQ (which has no hope of becoming the government,not only this year but for probably a couple decades)

Then we have QS who have taken a huge blow with the retirement of Francoise David. I don't think there's going to be a NDPQ option this year as well.

Choices are slim. But that's Québec. If Ontarians feel comfortable with a PC government,all I can say is,enjoy.

The bubble a lot of NDPers live in. They;re just not the gold standard progressive hope they once were. And I can't think of an NDP provincial government that legislated anything progressive. It's just business as usual.

Politicians are only going to move within tight parameters set by what they see is going to get them votes. Don't expect politicians to be great risk takers or to fall on their swords (by definition a closing act). If anyone wants a politician to adopt a policy - go out and get them votes based on this issue. That is why BC is against Kinder Morgan - no other reason.

Politicians are only going to move within tight parameters set by what they see is going to get them votes. Don't expect politicians to be great risk takers or to fall on their swords (by definition a closing act).

Actually Bernie Sanders has been doing just that for his entire political career regardless of what the issue was or whether or not it was fashionable at the time (i.e. his advocacy for the rights of the transgendered as Mayor of Burlington). That's why people like him because they can see that he's been consistent over time and will stand for what is right.

In 2014, an election was triggered because Andrea led her party to vote against a Liberal budget, in part, in protest of the $14 minimum wage.

That is completely false. The Liberals did not promise a $14 an hour minimum wage in 2014. They promised an $11 an hour minimum wage, to be followed up with indexing it to inflation. Granted, I'm critical of the NDP for not promising a $14 minimum wage at the time (they promised to bump it up to $12, and then index it to inflation), but what Pike said is a complete fabrication.

The NDP voted against the Liberal's 2014 budget because it contained very clear language that the Liberals were strongly considering privatizing Hydro One (and/or other large public assets). Horwath stated, upon voting against the budget, that "you don't heat the house by burning the furniture."

Unlocking the value of these assets through operational improvements or asset sales gives the government an innovative revenue source to reinvest back into the economy. Net revenue gains from the divestment of certain assets will be invested in provincial assets such as roads, bridges and transit.

[..]

The Province’s valuable assets include large and complex Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) — such as the LCBO, Hydro One and OPG. To identify opportunities to optimize the full value and performance of these core assets, the government will launch an in-depth review process.

The writing was on the wall that the Libs intended to start privatizing in a big way, and, as predicted, they did so with Hydro One. The Ontario NDP were right to vote against this budget. Also bear in mind that the gas plant scandal had just happened. The Ontario Libs are corrupt and will do anything to stay in power.

The ONDP Vision document outlines various measure to tackle poverty (see page 26) and also to give unions more power, which is the real route to ending poverty, in my opinion (see page 8, "Establishing Card Check Certification And Introducing First-Contract Arbitration"). They've been talking about this for a while, and they did get on board with the $15 minimum wage pledge long before the Ontario Liberals did (who only announced it in May of this year, contrary to what Pike claims).